When Peace Flows Like A River

For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. Isa 66:12 

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isa 26:3  

What is Peace?

In a general sense peace is freedom from disturbance. It is a state of quietude. That disturbance can occur in the mind or outside.

In extreme cases when that disturbance has occurred in the mind, a man may then be said to be mad. It is another way of saying he has no peace.

Orwell in his dystopian “1984” novel reckoned that “Sanity is not statistical.” Therefore there be many straddling the streets who are not exactly extreme cases but they are nevertheless without peace. It shows on the face.

 

Peace comes in two distinct forms. One is Christian or spiritual. The other is natural, or worldly. This is usually liquid and can explode at any time with serious consequences. Fate is its foundation. And its hope is that the gods will not go mad again. The former is built on Rock of Ages, which is Christ. He is the Lord of Peace Himself. He is the Prince of Peace. He advises we take note of these differences.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth” (Joh 14:27). 

 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (Joh 16:33).  

We acquire this peace when we are “converted” and become new creatures, and behold, our old nature passes away (2 Co 5:17). Christ unequivocally says that “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

For there is a natural man, and there is a spiritual man (1 Co 2:11-14). These two men might be handling the same subject. But they will be labouring at cross-purposes.

It left Nicodemus once a thoroughly exasperated man. And he burst out in despair; “How can these things be?”

Jesus was talking of spiritual things. Nicodemus tried to put his natural knowledge to it and it refused to add up.

It is still refuses to add up for many who are in the state of Nicodemus in the world. They may be as learned as Nicodemus was, but when Christ confronts them, the question which is left hanging before their eyes is always, “How can these things be?”

The Bible, or the Word of God, tells us how those things can be. It also tells us how and why His peace is beyond understanding.

Finding Peace in the Wilderness

Many people have felt a burning desire to run away from it all. The abysmal pollution, the noise, the lies, the chaos, the wickedness in the world. People have craved peace but they did not find it.

These are our aberrations. They tear at the heart and mind.

David saw it. Therefore he cried “Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.  Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.” (Ps 55:6).

David’s craving is a craving for peace. It is a craving for us all. Christ saw it. Therefore His coming carried the promise of that peace. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luk 2:14).

David’s pining is a pining for all who feel a strong drawing to the only true source of true peace. It is a pining which only God in Christ Jesus can fill.

  

But David wasn’t alone in seeing the wilderness as a refuge for the tormented soul. There must have been something about the wilderness. Jeremiah too suffered the pangs of that insufferable loneliness. “Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them!” (Jer 9:2).

However now we don’t have to leave the house to search for peace. We don’t have to go to the desert. It is right here with us. It is in Christ. He is the Word. “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” (Rev 19:13). 

Immerse yourself in it and you are assured of peace. It is a haven for solitude for those who are without. It is a well that does not dry. “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (Joh 4:14). That life is peace. And it is everlasting.    

The River of Peace

So looks like everything is stacked up against you, you don’t have peace? Life grows harder. The people become the hardest. These are our days. These are our aberrations. We stand up, rising up to breath. But soon we are slumped back on our seats again, sighing with fatigue.

So “how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?”  I will trust in the Lord. I would advise you to do that too.

Probably you are saying with the psalmist: “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death” (Ps 13:2-3).

You are grieving. You are hurting. Your mind knows no peace. Your heart is reeling from an avalanche of troubles. Pain sticks like needles in your heart.

The wind has blown in a gale and your house is down. Rise up says the Lord. You will build your house again. You will have peace at last.

                         

Look Back For a Moment

Horatio Gates Spafford lost his four daughters in one day in the shipwreck of the Ville Du Havre. November 22, 1873. Only his wife Anna survived. Their only son had died earlier at age 4 only. The Chicago fire had destroyed most of his investments.  Then he went to view the remains of his daughters. It was on that journey that he wrote the evergreen hymn “It is well with my soul.”

Spafford had the peace of God with him. He had known it and it washed over his soul and sorrows like a river: When peace, like a river, attendeth my way/When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say/It is well, it is well with my soul…

May that peace attend your way too. May it wash over you in a flood to soothe and comfort you. The Lord gave Spafford the strength. The Lord still gives us that strength.  “Thy God hath commanded thy strength.” 

Then look at the men in Hebrew Eleven. The Hall of Faith.

But they knew peace after all. It flowed in them like a river. They were beat, scourged, stoned, “sawn asunder… they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented.” They lost all. They never even saw those promises come to life in their lifetime. Yet they were at peace. That river rose up in a flood and broke its banks. It washed over them. It swept them to heaven. They died in peace. They knew whom they believed.

Whom do you believe? Your pain? Your sorrow? Watch out. Satan is near watching whom He may devour next.  

The saints of old knew. Soon, they knew, they would be face to face with real peace. He would be there to receive them. Hadn’t he said “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me [?]. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (Joh 14:1-3).

That peace is a gem. The saints of old sold everything. They had found what they had looked for in all their lives. The treasure! The peace! They went home and sold everything and bought it.

Yes, peace costs. You have to leave everything behind and be married to Him. But they didn’t mind the price. They didn’t mind the loss. They counted everything as loss. They had found peace like a river. The world would never have a hold on them again. Why should they get back to the land?

People saw this. They stood and heard this. And they were astonished. A man selling everything for Christ? They thought these guys were nuts. So they asked, “How can these things be?” They did not know. It was because of peace.

When you have found peace and it has run over you like a river you will sell everything and buy it.

Spafford saw the devil who wanted to crush him with sorrow. Spafford refused to bow to Satan. He took pen and paper. He gave us the song which will ring in this life up to eternity.

The devil means to crush and kill. Spafford crushed him instead. God raised Spafford up. And in the song he wrote God gave him the words, He handed him the victory. The rest is history.

Why should you let grief kill you? Ask God to give you the words. Then put them on paper and who knows if it is not another song which will resound from here to heaven?

We lose all too. We even lose our loved ones. But we are not crushed. We say together with Christ it is well with our soul. When you have found peace and it has run over you like a river in a flood you will sing loudly in those same words too.

Christ breaks in victoriously over our souls. Christ always gives the victory. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”  Believe in Him. He is Peace. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phi 4:7).

This is the treasure. Go and sell everything and buy it if you can. We know it is absolutely free. But certain things you will have to let go before you fully appropriate this gem. It is that which will cost you. Break off the shackles. Walk in freedom.

It can be well with your soul too. That river of peace can wash over you if you desire. People will see it and they will be astonished like Nicodemus. They will stand up and ask; “How can these things be?”

They had found a river called peace. That is how these things can be.

But first get off the old clothes. Put on the new. Nicodemus staggered because he didn’t understand. Now you do. So do the first things first. Remove. Hand them over to Christ. Then put on the new robe he gives you. Get in the water. Close your eyes and feel it. It is called the river of peace.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). 

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom 8:1). 

Now go sing it on the mountain tops. Tell the world! You have found Him. Peace. He is a River and He has washed clean over you.

Why should the past hold you to ransom?

Remember when peace flows like a river it can break its banks, which is a good thing. But remember too sorrow can do that.  It drowns. It kills. One is a curse. The other is a blessing. Choose wisely. Choose life.

Why should you die?

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.  2Th 2:16-17.  

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. 2Th 3:16.